I'll bite... There's an old saying:

'At the center of every cult there is at least one person that has firsthand knowledge that the whole thing is a lie and a scam. In a religion, that person is dead.'

I wish I could consider that saying a joke. But when I look at the origin of every 'religion' I know -- Mormonism, Scientology, Christianity, Islam, whatever. It rings just too true.

"My beliefs are religion, your beliefs are a cult"

If the founder is alive, then it’s a cult. After that it’s a religion.

There are no differences.
Religions ARE cults.

The two are very close. In some cases, they are the same.

Same thing to me. All is just nonsense.

There is no difference except how widely they are accepted as being valid.

Cult : a small group of people sharing the same crazy ideas.
Religion : a large group of people sharing the same crazy ideas

Cult: a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.

Religion: the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

I don't see any difference, technically, except that the object of worship in a cult is not necessarily superhuman. But in practice, people (especially religious people) use the term "cult" to refer to religions that are, in their eyes, really weird. It is, in their view, an insult.

But I, an atheist, see all religions as really weird, so I see little difference between the two words. For me, all religions are cults. (But not all cults are necessarily religions.)

Religions are comprised of large amounts of gullible weak minded sheep and cults are comprised of small amounts of gullible weak minded sheep.

To me, the difference is how long it’s been around and how many members it claims. New religions with few members are cults. Old religions with lots of members are pedophile factories.

The difference between a cult and a religion - in a cult there is AT LEAST ONE who knows it's bullshit.

Other than that, the only real difference is that the term 'cult' is assumed to be not normal while 'religion' is assumed normal.

There is no difference. Religion equals cult. PERIOD.

Cult = a belief system centred around a 'deified' figure, prophet, etc,
Religion = the system of belief engendered by the same 'deified' figure, prophet, etc,
Both, imho, are completely baseless, founded solely upon presumptions, assumptions, etc, and imaginings with the added bonuses to the Founder/s/ Purveyors of a steady and reliable source of financial income.

a religion is an armed cult

Why???

They both are overtly controlling and demeaning!

A religion is a cult that survived long enough to be called a religion.

Frank Constanza: "Wait. Is this the group that goes around mutilating squirrels?"

George Costanza: "No, it's a regular religion."

Size! Size does matter. At one time every recognized religion started as a cult.

Dang, I’m back in school.

I like some of the definitions here.

Decades ago, a guy told me cults don't own real estate and religions do.

"In most human beings the desire to belong is greater than the desire to understand. Hence, the popularity of cults and religion and the lack of the role of reason in human affairs." Thomas Szasz

BS, BS, no differences

A Cult becomes a religion when it progresses from killing its members to killing non-members.

The difference would be openness. Religions publish their beliefs openly ( Bible, Koran, Bhagavadgita, etc) and seek to persuade the public of their truth. Anyone who accepts these beliefs and rituals is recognized as a member of the religion. So, religions seek a mass following. Cults, however, rely on secret or special knowledge which is revealed only to initiates by the cult's founder. Their beliefs aren't normally published. Everything depends on a personal relationship between the founder and followers, who are usually required to separate themselves from the rest of the world.

"If the founder is alive, then it’s a cult. After that it’s a religion."

I like that definition.

To my mind, a cult is usually relatively limited in the number of initiates and often believing in an aspect or interpretation of a recognized sacred text - most particularly the Bible - that questions the tenets, and therefore the power, of larger, more established hierarchical religious organizations. Christianity began as a cult until it was seen to serve the purposes of the leaders of a disintegrating Roman empire and so harnessed as a unifying belief system that would extend the period of imperial rule. Had Mithraism been open to women, the United States would be Mithratic rather than Christian (although, coincidentally, still celebrating December 25th as the birthday of its founding figure).